I told my Freshman High School English teacher that even though I loved to read, I didn’t care for English class because we never read anything “cool.” A year later, I returned to her classroom to recant my previous statement. I fell in love with English class when I read The Great Gatsby. As a […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Whos, Whats, Wheres, and Whens of Teaching Grammar to Younger Children
I love to teach grammar to my second graders, and they are usually very eager learners when they figure out that the grammar they are learning ties in to the writing that they enjoy. I introduce grammar by engaging students in a ‘hunt.’ We are always searching for parts of speech, punctuation and proper sentence […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
How To Teach Creativity In A Test Driven Culture
I am blessed to have what many other teachers don’t: autonomy. A 2014 Forbes article listed the top 10 skills wanted by employers: ability to work in a team structure, the ability to make decisions and solve problems, the ability to communicate, the ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work; and the ability to obtain and process […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Eat Your Vocabulary– It’s Good for You!
“If music be the food of love,” as Shakespeare suggests, then the food for the mind is vocabulary. The term vocabulary is defined as “a list or collection of words or of words and phrases usually alphabetically arranged and explained or defined.” There are a number of reasons to think about these lists of words and phrases […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Have You Tried Socratic Seminars Yet?
Have you jumped into Socratic Seminars in your classroom yet? If not, I’ve got a few easy tips to help you get started – including a ‘real life’ demo video! If you’re already using Socratic Seminar, maybe I’ve got a way you can snazz yours up and take your students’ thinking a little bit deeper. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
From Literature Circles to Inquiry Circles
Last spring, my 8th grade students were involved in Literature Circles where they read one of six Young Adult Historical Fiction selections. The Literature Circles took about five weeks to complete. Previously, I wrote a series of articles that cover procedures, mini-lessons, and assignments and assessments. One of the major areas I worked on with my […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Distrust of Facts Highlights Need to Return to Primary Sources
“Get your facts first,” quips satirist Mark Twain. “Then you can distort them as much as you please.” These words were first put to print in an 1899 Rudyard Kipling interview of the timeless sage, but they could have just as easily been written yesterday. In an era where the news makers are jabbing back […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
How to Teach Parents to Help their Children Develop a Growth Mindset
Research has shown that when students have a fixed mindset they are less likely to find success than those with a growth mindset. As teachers, we can do many things to encourage a growth mindset. However, parents play a huge role in the lives of students, so coaching them using growth mindset language is essential […]